Iverson sparks rally as Pistons bottle up Cavaliers

Allen Iverson and Rasheed Wallace, with a combined 25 years of
NBA experience, teamed up for 33 second-half points Wednesday to
lead the Pistons to a 96-89 victory, snapping the Cavaliers'
eight-game winning streak.

After the Cavs were in control over the first three quarters,
they had no answer for the Pistons' running game in the final
frame - as Iverson made clear exactly why Detroit brought him in
two weeks ago by spearheading a huge fourth quarter.

The All-Star guard did what he does best - pushing the ball to
the hoop and pulling defenders inside - to open things up for
Detroit's offense. He and new backcourt mate Rodney Stuckey
orchestrated a 15-4 run midway through the fourth to pull away.

"I was penetrating and getting into the paint and the guys would
basically stand out," Iverson said. "They weren't converging on
me and I was able to get a couple of easy, short jumpers in the
lane. That's how I'll continue to play. I'll stay aggressive
and keep driving the basketball."

Iverson buried back-to-back runners to pull the Pistons even at
76-76, then found Wallace on the wing for a 3-pointer that gave
Detroit the lead for good.

One possession later, Wallace connected from the arc again and
Iverson added two more driving layups - including a three-point
play - to help put the game away.

"They brought us to a complete standstill," Cavaliers head coach
Mike Brown said. "That's the first time I've seen us that
discombobulated all year. Sheed's threes were huge and so were
A.I.'s drives. It seemed like every time they made a play, it
deflated us a little more. It wasn't getting us going. We lost
that bunker mentality."

The 33-year-old finished with 23 points on 8-of-16 shooting and
added four assists and four steals, while Stuckey came up with
three huge buckets in the game's waning minutes to keep the
Cavaliers at bay.

Wallace said that Iverson's penetration opened things up for
him.

"That's basketball," he said. "They can't stop the outside
shots no matter if it's myself or (Rodney Stuckey) or Arron
(Afflalo). They can't stop the penetration and the shots from
outside."

"It wasn't the best I can play," James said. "That happens in
this league - you have good games and bad games."

The defeat ended Cleveland's longest winning streak since the
1997-98 team ran off 10 in a row. Meanwhile, Detroit won for
the fourth time in five games after losing both of Iverson's
first two appearances in a Pistons uniform.

"They played a great second half and we didn't respond," Brown
said. "It was like a bunch of their players got together at
halftime and said, 'Let's bear down and take this game away from
the Cavaliers,' and that's just what they did."

Cleveland outscored Detroit, 12-2, from the free-throw line in
the first half as the Cavaliers built a 49-38 halftime lead.
Williams led Cleveland with 12 points in the half, while James
had 10 to offset a 13-point half by Detroit's Richard Hamilton.

Wallace scored the first six points of the game, but the
Cavaliers answered with a 17-6 run.

"The first half, we couldn't get anything going offensively, but
we stayed in the game because we held them to 14 points in the
paint in the first half and 22 in the game," Detroit coach
Michael Curry said. "That was our emphasis. We wanted to do
that and outrebound those guys."

Cleveland led until a 3-point basket by Afflalo tied the game at
66-66 with 47.6 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Iverson, playing his second home game since being acquired from
Denver earlier this month, led the Pistons' third-period
comeback with nine points.

Detroit trailed, 68-66, after three quarters, but the Pistons
went ahead for the first time since early in the game on a pair
of free throws by Wallace with 10:38 remaining in the fourth.

Mo Williams scored a season-high 25 points for the Cavaliers,
who failed to reach 90 points for the first time since their
season-opening, 90-85 loss to the Boston Celtics.

Cleveland played without swingman Wally Szczerbiak, who was not
with the team because of personal reasons.

The Pistons shot 51 percent (38-of-75) from the field, 5-of-12
(42 percent) from the arc and 15-of-18 (83 percent) from the
foul line.

It was the second time in less than a week that the Pistons
cooled off one of the NBA's hottest teams. Detroit handed the
Los Angeles Lakers their first defeat last Friday.

"It's early, but it's exciting," Iverson said. "It builds
confidence. When you beat teams like that, it measures the type
of team that you are. We haven't had a lot of time to practice,
so that gives us the feeling that we can only get better. Once
we're together more, we can find a rhythm and the offense will
flow like it did in the fourth quarter."